The kerfuffle between Presidents Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office was a classic culture clash in a political setting.  The unfortunate public scene and abrupt end to the negotiations could have been avoided if more attention had been paid to Osnat Lautman’s experiences and message: the culture in which we are raised shapes how we deliver messages and receive them from others.

In her first book, Israeli Business Culture (Gefen Publishing, 2019), reprinted in Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, and English, Lautman relays how foreign businesspeople find Israelis brash and rough but innovative.  They make no time for small talk; it’s all about closing the deal.  On the contrary, a favorite Italian quip is dolce far niente — the pleasantness of doing nothing.  Time is not a driving force in business or diplomacy; it is all about the journey, getting to know the other, and understanding the business or political environment.  

In Lautman’s new book, Global Cultural Interplay: Elevating the Art of Business Success Across Cultures (OLM Consulting, 2025), which we recommend for businesspeople and diplomats, her message is that  “most individuals can only look narrowly from their perspective” shaped by “societies we grew up in.”  This limits and skews one’s strategies.  My culture shapes and affects what I hear.  Likewise, communication between managers and higher-ups, old and young, males and females can be mistaken, resulting in a total misreading of another’s intent.

An Israeli and a Canadian were transitioning products.  The Israeli said his staff “does not care” about the changes.  The Canadian CEO took offense.  “What’s that supposed to mean — they don’t care?” he thundered.  But the Israeli’s point was lost in translation: he meant that the Israeli staff didn’t mind the changes.  They were okay with them.  But the damage had been done.

Ukrainians are tough-minded and independent.  They survived centuries of invasions and uprisings.  They bonded as tribes to form a nation-state and built a formative cultural legacy.  

As for Zelensky, although 99% of the deal was set pre–Oval Office meeting, he viewed the public meeting as an opportunity to squeeze out a commitment for security agreements.  Zelensky wants America to face off against Russia if and when Russia attacks Ukraine in the future.  The two presidents met for forty minutes before the cameras rolled.  With the yell of action, Zelensky made his move on Trump.

Trump, an American businessman, thought he had a deal waiting to be signed and confirmed over the breaking of bread.  American business culture resents backdoor windstorms and unending wheeling; more so, Americans, and Trump in particular, hate being embarrassed in public.  Trump touts his reputation as the deal-maker and opened the day repeatedly declaring that Zelensky was there to sign.

Zelensky views himself as an equal to any world leader and needs to invigorate his people with a show of equal footing — yes, thank you, America, for your military commitments.  But Ukrainians are tough enough to carry on against the Russian monsters.  To sign a deal, snap pictures, and have lunch are de rigueur.  Zelensky dressed military-style black, crossing his arms, throwing back his head, eyes to the sky when Vance spoke to him.  These are all signs that “my people are tough and independent” — thankful, but don’t treat us like your Puerto Rico.

Another example from Lautman’s book gives gravitas to the importance of cultural preparedness and language in meeting foreign counterparts.  To the English, “issue” has a negative connotation, but to Russians and perhaps Eastern Europeans, an issue is a “topic or subject.”  For the British, an issue is “like a problematic topic or subject.  The distinction is liable to ruffle some feathers.”  Zelensky raising the “issue” of security agreements simply turned off and shut down President Trump.  Aside from the business deal, Zelensky was forestalling if not killing Trump’s ambition for him to be remembered as a peacemaker.  He yearns for the Prize.

Dozens of intercultural experts participated in producing Global Cultural Interplay.  It ought to be used as an exercise book for honing skills.  It is the most incisive and authoritative book available on cross-cultural communication since Edward Hall’s classic, The Silent Language (1959).

The author points out that worldwide, there are 7,000 languages in 200 countries.  Lautman’s message is particularly relevant to negotiations in the Arab-Israel conflict, Donald Trump's second foreign affairs agenda priority.  This is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and religious war in its 2,000th year.

Dr. Goldmeier teaches at Touro College Jerusalem.  He is an award-winning entrepreneur, receiving the Governor's Award for family investment programs in the workplace from the Commission on the Status of Women.  He was a research and teaching fellow at Harvardand a managing partner of an investment firm; a business management consultant, a free public speaker on business, social; and public policy issues.  He taught international university students in Tel Aviv.  harold.goldmeier@gmail.com

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